Mission Impossible
by Fading wind
Summary: Roy Mustang is an assassin. And lately, his missions have been getting impossible for him. [Royai] [EdWin] [AU] Ch. 10 up & complete!
1. Toren and Silver

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I am merely writing a fanfiction.

**Mission Impossible **(AU fic) (Royai)

**Ch. 1 / Toren and Silver**

It was a dark night. The moon was nowhere to be seen, hidden behind the heavy grey clouds. Lonely stars were scattered here and there in the pitch-black sky with only a dull glow. The empty streets were lit with the aid of dim street lamps. The many alleyways of Central lay veiled by darkness, and who knows what mysterious secrets lurked within them.

A dark-haired man walked along one of the desolate streets. Suddenly he turned and walked into an alleyway. A black cat darted agilely from one dustbin to another, its green eyes gleaming eerily. And then he spoke, "Toren."

"Silver," a voice acknowledged him. It was a voice which showed no emotion. "You have kept me waiting."

"I am sorry, Toren. I had to settle some matters in the military. So," a pause, "which is my target this time?"

"It is Maes Hughes," the voice said.

The dark-haired man let out a gasp before he could stop himself. "Maes...?"

"Yes," the voice replied.

"Impossible!" the dark-haired man cried.

"Nothing is impossible," the voice became colder. "Do you accept this mission?"

There was a long silence. The dark-haired man trembled all over as he struggled to make a decision. When he finally spoke, he had come upon a negative decision. "No... I'm sorry, but I cannot accept this mission."

"Are you sure, Silver? You know that in your entire career as an assassin, you may only choose to refuse one mission. If you do not accept this one, you cannot refuse any future ones."

"I am sure," the dark-haired man said.

Toren did not speak for a while, and the dark-haired man was afraid that Toren was angry. But Toren did speak at last, and all he said was, "You may leave, Silver."

Relieved, the dark-haired man hurried out of the alleyway and back home. His night was not a peaceful one. He was attacked by terrible nightmares about his best friend dying. He woke up from them, sweating, but at least he was comforted by the knowledge that he had refused to kill his best friend and he would be safe.

Little did he know that he was wrong. His best friend was not safe at all.

_To be continued..._

**A/N:** Yeah, I know this chapter is very short. And I am almost certain that the next chapter will be just as short. But please forgive me. I am not very capable at writing long chapters. I will try my best though to write longer chapters, and if I fail, just pretend you don't notice they're growing shorter instead of longer. XD Please read & review!


	2. Death

**Mission Impossible** (AU fic) (Royai)

**Ch. 2 / Death**

Roy Mustang looked out of the window, or rather, at the window. All he saw was his own reflection in the glass, and he could see nothing of the views outside the train. He was not feeling very well. Not physically, but emotionally. He felt anxious, and there was perhaps a little fear in his heart. For what? He did not know. All he knew was that something was coming up, and that something was certainly not a very good thing.

"Lieutenant," he called.

"Yes, sir." The woman sitting opposite him answered his call instantly.

"Can you feel it?" he asked.

"It, sir?" the woman said, puzzled.

"Yes, it. Something... Something bad is going to happen," he said solemnly, turning away from the window.

The woman lowered her head. "Yes, I can feel it, sir," she said quietly, her voice turning sober too.

Silence fell between the two. Both can sense something stirring, something that they would not like. Both were scared, although they would never admit their own fears. Both felt unable to speak anymore.

A man ran down the isle, skidding and stopping as he reached where Roy was sitting. "There is a phone call for you, sir. Sounds very urgent to me," he said, panting as he spoke, and breaking the silence.

Roy's heart gave an uneasy leap as he stood up and followed the man to the phone. This is it, he thought. What will it be? He picked up the receiver and spoke, "Colonel Roy Mustang speaking."

"Colonel Mustang, this is terrible news. Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes is dead," the voice at the other end of the phone line announced.

Roy froze. He dropped the receiver. His shoulders slumped. His knees felt weak. His whole body felt like collapsing to the ground at that very moment. He couldn't believe his ears. Maes couldn't be dead. Maes couldn't be dead... Maes couldn't be dead... Couldn't be dead... Dead...

"Colonel!" the woman's voice snapped him out of his trance and back into reality. "Colonel, what has happened?"

"Maes..." Roy swallowed a lump in his throat. "Maes is dead..."

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?" the woman exclaimed. "That can't be!"

"That's what I think. He can't be dead. It's impossible!" Roy's voice grew louder as he spoke until it almost became a scream at the end.

The woman stood there, looking shocked. Roy stood there, fighting back tears, fighting back sadness and anger.

Slowly, the woman bent down and picked up the receiver. She spoke into it, "Hello?" There was no reply. The person at the other end had cut off. She placed the received back down where it should be, on the phone.

"Riza..." The woman almost jumped at hearing her first name spoken by the Colonel. She said nothing though. "Riza..." the Colonel said her name again, "What should I do now?"

Riza herself had to blink back a tear as she spoke. "Roy..." She said his first name too. She had thrown away all the military rules to the back of her mind. Now was not the time to worry about such things. She opened her arms, welcoming Roy.

"Please, Riza... Tell me what to do!" Roy cried desperately, throwing himself into Riza's arms and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Oh, Roy," Riza said softly. A tear slid down her cheek. "I don't know what to do too." She wrapped her arms around Roy's neck. And that was all she could do to comfort him. She could not even comfort herself. Roy's tears started flowing freely, and so did Riza's.

It was not only Hughes's death which made them cry. It was the many years of pain and suffering, trapped inside them, which they had never allowed themselves to let out. And once they had started crying over Hughes's death, seeing the chance to seek freedom at last, all these other sorrows poured out of them at once, escaping in the form of tears, tears, and more tears. The tears were uncontrollable.

They both sobbed into each other's warm embrace, and then when the tears stopped coming finally, they went back to their seats, and they fell asleep sitting next to each other, with their arms around the other's neck.

It was the first time they had cried in a long long while. They were never people to submit to their own emotions easily. It was also the first time they had opened themselves up to each other in years. The last time was ages ago during the Ishbal War.

But although they loved each other so much, they would not admit their love for each other, and neither was sure if the other loved them truly or not. There must be a time when a confession must be made. Both of them thought that time would never come, as they were both in the military.

Little did they know that the time would come much sooner than anyone would expect.

_To be continued..._

**A/N:** Yay! This chapter is longer than the last one! I'm so happy! Hopefully, the next chapter will be just as long, or maybe even longer! Please read & review!


	3. Emotions

**Mission Impossible** (AU fic) (Royai)

**Ch. 3 / Emotions**

It was another moonless night. The same dark-haired man was walking on the deserted street, but it was a different place this time. Toren always changed locations each time for security reasons. The dark-haired man turned into one of the alleyways. He recognized this alleyway specifically. It was the very alleyway where the Nina slash Alexander chimera was destroyed.

"Toren," the man's voice was laced with anger. "Was it you who killed Maes?"

"No, it wasn't me." There was a smirk in Toren's voice. "The man is not worthy enough for me to personally go and kill him myself, no. But I sent one of my other men to kill him. A willing man. And I should say he was well-rewarded."

"I thought he would be safe when I refused the mission!" he shouted, unable to control himself.

"I agreed to let him escape the fate of being killed _by his best friend_, but I never said I would let him escape the fate of being killed," Toren said, his voice almost a laugh, mocking the dark-haired man's stupidity.

The man's clenched fist shook violently. He was furious. He never ever thought that Maes would die. He thought he had saved Maes when he refused the mission. How idiotic he was! He should have known. Toren was a cunning man. And Toren was never a man to give up once he had chosen a target. Once he had picked someone as a target, that person could not escape from the fate of death. He had never been sillier to think that Maes was sheltered from all dangers the moment he refused his mission.

"So, are you ready for your next mission?" Toren asked. From his voice the dark-haired man could tell he was planning something even worse. _But what can be worse?_ thought the man. _What can be worse than killing my best friend? _"Yes," he said, thinking that there was nothing worse than that. But he was so stupid that he didn't see the other possibility. There WAS something worse than killing his best friend. And that was --

"Your target is Riza Hawkeye."

Toren's hard words hit him like a bullet, piercing him. "WHAT?" he yelled, outraged. "Have I heard wrong?"

"No, you have not," Toren sneered. "You have heard right. Your target is Riza Hawkeye."

"No! I refuse such an absurd mission," the dark-haired man said without hesitation. He would not kill Riza Hawkeye. Certainly not her.

"From the very beginning, at the start of your training as an assassin, you have been told not to let your emotions blind you. This is a very important thing to assassins. They must NEVER let their emotions get in the way. Have you forgotten that rule?" Toren said.

"No, I have not," the man said.

"Then why are you not able to kill Riza Hawkeye? To any assassin, she is just another normal target, a person that needs to be terminated. And especially to you, you must bear that in mind. She is just a target, and she is to be treated like one. You cannot let your emotions get in the way."

"Do you not have a person that you love?" the dark-haired man asked, his voice quiet.

"Love?" Toren guffawed. "I have long since abandoned that feeling. From the very moment I became an assassin, I had left love behind. I do not remember what love is like anymore. And you, too, should do the same. Throw your feelings away. That is the only way you will become a good assassin. Emotions are of no value to us."

The dark-haired man remained quiet for a period of time as he thought over it. Then he said, his voice quieter than before, "I accept this mission."

"Good," Toren said in a tone of approval. "I am glad you have learnt. I expect the target to be dead in three days."

"Yes, Toren," the dark-haired man said in the quietest voice ever.

"You are dismissed."

The man turned and walked away slowly, his heart heavy. What should he do now? He would never be able to kill Riza with his own hands. And if he didn't kill Riza, Toren will send his men after him and Riza. Toren's men were very skilled assassins, and he knew that both he and Riza would probably not be able to escape death. He sighed. He wondered how long would it be before his death. It would not be more than a month, he knew. Oh, he would die knowing that it was he who caused the death of his own love. But at least he might be able to die with Riza. And so his thoughts wandered on, growing more and more confusing and muddling as he got nearer to home. He was too sleepy. Matters of life and death were of no importance to him then.

Little did he know that he wasn't going to die anytime soon.

_To be continued..._

**A/N: **Oh, that was quite a good long chappie! -beams- Hope you liked it! Please read & review!


	4. Beauty

**Mission Impossible** (AU fic) (Royai)

**Ch. 4 / Beauty**

"Colonel." Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye put down a new stack of paperwork on Roy's desk. Roy looked up at the woman standing in front of his desk. Her smooth blonde hair clipped up, her bright auburn eyes shielding all emotions she was feeling inside her, her cherryish-red lips forming a smile, but a stern one. Every part of her was beautiful. Roy eyed the drawer where he kept a gun hidden in. How could he ever pull the trigger and kill the woman he loved so much? No, it was impossible.

"Lieutenant." Riza was walking out of the room. She turned back and said, "Yes, sir?" Roy hesitated. Should he tell her, or should he not?

"Please, sir, I have a lot of work to do. I would appreciate it if you do not waste my time," Riza said.

"Lieutenant, this thing is very important. You need to listen." Roy paused, not knowing how to continue. Then he decided getting straight to the point would be better. "I'm an assassin." Riza's eyes flew open wide for a single second, then the astonished expression was gone. Roy wasn't even sure if he had actually seen it. "And I have been ordered to kill you last night." This time Roy was certain he saw a flicker of shock on Riza's face, but she did not say anything. "I accepted the mission, but I know I can never bring myself to kill you. You are a loyal subordinate, and you have always followed me faithfully." Roy wanted to add 'and I love you', but he couldn't. "How can I kill you with my own hands? No, I cannot. But in three days, if my boss receives no news of your death, he will send his men after us, and we will both be killed. What can I do, Lieutenant?" He just managed to stop himself from saying her first name.

Riza closed her eyes. For at least two minutes, Roy watched her intently, admiring her beauty. Then she opened her eyes, and she looked slightly troubled. "Wait, did you have anything to do with Hughes's death?" she inquired.

"I... I was ordered to kill him, but I refused the mission," Roy said.

Riza frowned. "Then why didn't you refuse this one?"

"I couldn't. I can only refuse one mission and I've used up my chance," Roy explained.

"Oh."

"And then my boss sent another of his men to kill Maes," Roy said, his voice starting to crack as his eyes became wet.

Riza noticed this, and she said, "Well, we have our own matters to worry about now. Let's put Hughes's death aside for now. We need to think about what to do to avoid our own deaths."

"I really don't know what to do," Roy said, his voice becoming more normal. "Let's just run away."

"That's ridiculous!" Riza commented at once, without even stopping to think.

"That's the only thing we can do. The other plan is to kill them all. But that's even more ridiculous," Roy said.

Riza sighed. "Perhaps," she said. "Perhaps it's really the only we can do. But where can we run to?"

"I don't know," Roy admitted. "Shall we go to Rizenbul for now?"

"Will they be able to find us there?"

"They will. I know they will. But at least it will delay them for a few days," Roy said.

Riza considered this. "What about the work we will be leaving behind?" she asked. Roy slumped in exasperation. It was a matter of life and death, and Riza was still thinking about work. Typical of her.

"Lieutenant, we're going to die! Can't we just forget about work?" he wailed, waving his arms in the air.

Her eyes regarded him coldly for a moment. "You forget about work all the time, Colonel. I have never met such a slacker as you." Her expression softened. "Fine. I'll go and book train tickets. When do you want to depart, sir?"

"As soon as possible," Roy said, glancing at the clock. "At noon."

Riza nodded and left the room.

Roy's hopes lifted. Perhaps they would be able to live, after all. They would get to Rizenbul first, and then they could have some time to think and plan carefully about what to do next. He was hopeful.

Little did he know he wouldn't be allowed any time to think and plan at all.

_To be continued..._

**A/N: **I finally finished this chapter! Took me 2 hours. And the chapter's quite short, really. T.T I will work harder next time. I'm running out of inspiration though. Please read & review!


	5. Pain

**Mission**** Impossible **(AU fic) (Royai)

**Ch.**** 5 / Pain **

Roy and Riza arrived at the train station and boarded the train. They were wearing casual clothes, with hats pulled down to partly cover their faces, in the hope that no one would recognize them. They sat down opposite each other. Riza picked up the scroll of newspaper left behind on the seat next to hers by some careless person who was on the train before, and began to read the front page. Roy's eyes scanned the crowd standing on the station platform for anyone suspicious-looking. Finding none, he settled down and fished out a book from his bag to read, but he was not reassured, and his heart was still heavy with fear and anxiety.

The train whistle blew and the train slowly left the station. It picked up speed in a few seconds, and soon it was flying past the dense urban buildings into the more relaxed suburban area, and finally into the rural fields with scarcely a single soul to be seen anywhere. Both Roy and Riza found that they could not concentrate on their reading. The words on the page swam around in their minds, not making any sense at all. Roy gave up trying to comprehend the tiny black print in his book. Instead he gazed out to the endless lush green slopes all around him, with animals grazing here and there. _How lucky they are_, Roy thought. _They don't have to worry about anything. They live such an easy, simple life. Not that I'm complaining about my own, of course, but it is sometimes unbearably fast-paced, and full of unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes I just can't cope anymore, and I feel like breaking down, just like I did that night... _

Riza's auburn eyes never left the headline of the front page on the newspaper, even though she didn't take in any of what was written on there. Her heart was thumping hard in her chest, and she felt tense. Something was warning her that the enemy was not far away, and she needed to be ready for action. Her hand slithered down to her belt to check if her beloved gun was still securely attached. Her hand rested there on top of her gun after she had confirmed that yes, it was still there.

Hours passed. No word was passed between the superior and subordinate in the silent train compartment as the train wound its way through the country. The Colonel sat with his arms folded across his chest, staring out at the blue skies with a dreamy expression on his face, and the Lieutenant had took his book and started to read it herself. The Colonel made no protest when she did so; he probably hadn't even noticed her quick movement.

The skies were dyed a bloody red colour as the sun gradually set in the west. Roy watched the process, mesmerized. He loved sunsets. They contained this admirable sadness and beauty which could not be expressed by mere words. _A sunset is almost like her... So beautiful, so sad..._

The sky was dark already when they pulled into the train station of Rizenbul. Roy and Riza were the only ones who got off at that station. Roy led the way as they trotted down the lane, making their way to the Rockbell's. Roy had been there before; he remembered the way well. How could he ever forget the first time his gaze fell upon Edward Elric's young, innocent face? He was one of the many people who tore away the innocence from the Elric brothers. In Fullmetal's face, Roy could sometimes see something in the boy's features which resembled himself. A look of pain and exhaustion, a desire to cry like a child, a longing for home and warmth.

Riza had a feeling of unease. The blackness of the night was pressing all around her. "Sir," she began, but Roy interrupted her. "Shh! Yes, I can sense it too, Lieutenant." They continued on towards the house in the distance, their pace a little more hurried.

Then suddenly, as they were drawing close to the house, two figures emerged from the darkness. "Lieutenant!" Roy shouted just before one of the figures leapt onto him and clamped two hands over his mouth. Upon hearing Roy, Riza immediately sprang into action. She pulled her gun out, but she was unsure which of the three figures ahead of her Roy was. In the small amount of light coming from the house, Riza could just make out the outline of the three people. She would never tell anyone, but when she was around Roy, she liked to trace his shape with her eyes. Right now, this piece of information might come to use. But... was the one she thought was Roy really Roy? She had been at Roy's side for years, and he had put all his trust in her hands. She mustn't fail him. If she shot the wrong person, then... Fear gripped her.

The moment of hesitation almost cost Riza Hawkeye her life. In her panic, she did not notice as a third assassin appeared from thin air behind her. She did not become alert to this fact until it was too late. She felt a spasm of pain as a knife pierced her skin from the back, and she cried out, "Colonel!" Roy heard her call, and gave a muffled cry that sounded like, "Riza!" Riza gritted her teeth through the pain. She spun around and fired once, catching her assailant by surprise since he thought she wouldn't have enough strength to fight back after being injured so heavily. He had underestimated the determined First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, and he paid for that with his life. Riza then turned back to face Roy's attackers. Through her hazy vision blurred by pain, she aimed as best as she could possibly do, and she shot both attackers. At least, she hoped desperately that they were both the assailants, and not Roy. Her last thought before she fainted from another jolt of pain surging through her body was that if she had managed to save Roy from further danger, then her death didn't matter.

Little did she know that she still had her whole life in front of her, and even if she was to die for Roy, it would be thing that would happen much, much later in her long life.

_To be continued... _

**A/N: **I spent ages writing this. More than a month.Please read & review! I would love to have some more encouragement from my readers. Oh, and by the way, thanks for Hiyami for giving me an idea. I might use it somewhere, if I can fit it in.


	6. Hope

**Mission Impossible **(AU fic) (Royai)

**Ch. 6 / Hope**

Roy's two attackers suddenly loosened their grip on him and both fell unconscious to the ground. Roy quickly ran to where Riza was lying. He turned pale when he saw blood pouring from a wound in Riza's body. _No... please..._ He knelt down beside Riza and felt for her pulse. There was a very faint throb. Roy was relieved. Riza was still alive, at the very least. He still had a chance to save her from the clutches of death. Carefully, he scooped up Riza's body into his arms, not caring about the blood that soaked his clothes. He ran towards the house, their only hope.

He rang the doorbell once, and since he got no response, he pounded on the door with one fist, as loudly as possible. Finally someone answered the door. "Whoever you are, you don't have to knock the door down! We -- " The girl stopped when she saw _who_ the caller was. "Colonel Mustang! And..." Her eyes travelled down to the motionless, bleeding body in Roy's arms. "Miss Hawkeye!" she gasped. "What on earth happened? Why is Miss Hawkeye like this? Do come in!" She stepped aside to give way for Roy's entrance. Then she slammed the door shut and locked it.

"Gran! Come down now, Gran! We have a visitor!" Winry Rockbell yelled at the top of her voice. Roy put Riza down on the couch gingerly. A moment later, a short, plump woman with a pipe appeared. She took in the three people in the living room, and she calmly gave orders. "Colonel, bring the Lieutenant into our surgery room." Roy obeyed, picking Riza up once more and following Winry into the surgery room. Riza was laid down onto the white bed in the middle of the room. "Now, Colonel, would you mind leaving us alone for a while?" Pinako asked, her tone, although polite, was demanding. Roy retreated back into the living room and glanced at the couch, which was stained red with blood. So he stood instead, and waited.

Winry closed the door of the surgery room. She took off Riza's top and examined the wound. Riza would have died at once, but she was extremely lucky. The knife had not pierced Riza's heart; the wound was just slightly to the left of where the heart was. But, nevertheless, the knife had penetrated deep inside, and Riza had already lost a lot of blood. There was still a chance Riza would not survive.

Winry cleaned the wound and stitched up the opening. As she was doing so, Riza twitched a few times, and Winry could tell, even in Riza's unconsciousness, she could feel some of the pain. Winry's heart clenched in sympathy. Then she dressed the wound. Throughout the process, Pinako stood aside and watched. She felt proud of her granddaughter. She still remembered the times when Winry was four years old and just started learning. A clumsy, silly little child she was then, but today, at sixteen, she still had her moments. Of course, she was much more experienced now, and Pinako was confident to leave her to work on her own.

When Winry had finished, she stripped Riza of her blood-stained clothes and put on her a fresh white gown. And then she carried Riza out of the room. Roy, who was pacing around the living room impatiently, snapped to attention instantly and dashed over to see Riza. "How's she?" he asked urgently. Winry gave a thin smile and said, "Fortunately for both of you, the knife did not go through her heart. It was a narrow escape. She's not safe yet though. We'll have to wait and see." Then she spun round and headed up the stairs to place Riza in the guest slash patient bedroom, leaving Roy behind with a worried frown.

Pinako came out of the surgery room a second later. "Where am I supposed to sleep?" he inquired, seeing that the guest bedroom was occupied. "With me?" Pinako said with a raised eyebrow. Roy started and sweatdropped. "Of course not!"

"With my granddaughter, then?" the old woman queried.

"No!"

"Well, then what do you think?"

Roy said nothing.

"Oh, you sleep on the couch, of course!" With that, the old woman disappeared.

Roy stared in despair at the dirty couch. _I think I'd rather prefer to sleep with Riza... if only she isn't half-dead._

He sighed and busied himself with the task of cleaning up the couch. About an hour later, he fell asleep on a clean couch, all the while assuring himself that Riza wouldn't die. It was not surprising that he had a dream, or rather, a nightmare about Riza's death during his sleep. He woke up to find tears falling from his eyes. He wiped them away quickly, ashamed. Riza wasn't even dead yet, for god's sake, and he was already crying. What if she really died? He didn't want to think about it. _Please don't let Riza die..._

Little did he know that the next time he would cry, it would be out of happiness.

_To be continued..._

**A/N: **Finished chapter 6 in three days. I'm finally getting on better with this. This chapter wasn't too long though. Oh well, I'll try better next time. Please read & review!


	7. Alive

**Mission Impossible** (AU fic) (Royai)

**Ch. 7 / Alive**

Sunlight poured in through the window and beamed upon the sleeping figure of a dark-haired man, waking him up. Roy opened his eyes slowly, stretched himself and yawned. It was then when he noticed the unfamiliar surroundings. He didn't remember waking up to see a white ceiling; the ceilings in his house were grey. He didn't remember ever being woken up by bright sunlight either; the window in his bedroom didn't face the east. He rubbed his eyes and opened them wide again to confirm that he wasn't seeing things. Then the events of the previous night came back to him, and pang of anxiety hit him.

At that moment, a girl with long, pale blonde hair padded down the last few steps of the staircase and emerged into the room Roy was in. "Miss Rockbell!" Roy called out for the girl. Winry spun round to face him. "How's Ri-- Hawkeye?" he asked, trying his best to cover up the accidental slip he had made. He cursed himself silently for his own carelessness.

"Miss Hawkeye's feeling better. She's awake right now," Winry said. "Do you want to see her?"

Roy nodded eagerly and followed Winry upstairs to the guest bedroom. Sitting on the bed, leaning on the pillow for support, was Riza Hawkeye. Her face was pale, and she looked quite tired, but she was in a much much better condition than last night. Upon seeing his favourite subordinate alive, Roy felt a surge of joy. He could almost have just thrown himself onto her and hugged her on the spot; he was so happy. But he reminded himself of his position and Hawkeye's, and he restrained himself from doing what he'd very much like to do. Instead, he just said, "I'm glad that you're still alive, and recovering speedily, Lieutenant."

"So am I," Riza said softly, and a rare smile appeared on her face. It was brief though, and a moment later it was gone. Inside her mind, she added, _I'm glad that I'm alive, because if I'd died, I wouldn't be able to protect you. I wouldn't be able to assist you to achieve your goal of becoming the Fuhrer, like I'd promised. _Although she never said that aloud, Roy heard it in his heart, and he understood.

There was silence for quite some time, before Winry spoke. "So, will someone tell me how did Miss Hawkeye end up like this? What were you two doing in the middle of the night? Why were there three corpses outside on the path and who do they belong to?" There was terror in Winry's eyes when she voiced her last question.

"To put a long story short, Hawkeye and I were being chased by some assassins. We killed them in self-defence only," Roy explained simply, not wanting to go into the details of the story.

"But may I ask why were you being chased by some assassins?" Winry asked curiously. "You don't see many people on the street being chased by assassins every day, do you? It is not common for such a thing to happen."

Roy sighed. It looked like he would have to tell the story more detailedly after all. "I'm an assassin myself. At least, I used to be one. I don't know if I'm one anymore. It all started when I was given the order to kill my best friends, Maes..."

"Wait! Hughes-san?" Winry gasped, horrified. "You weren't the person who killed him in the end, were you, you..." Winry clenched her fists in the memory of what Roy did to her parents in the Ishbal War.

"No, I didn't kill him, of course not!" Roy snapped. "How can I kill my own best friend? I refused the mission. Now, throughout the career of an assassin, you can only refuse one mission. I've used up the quota. But a huge problem came along when I got another impossible mission, and that was to kill my subordinate who is sitting on the bed in front of me now. Obviously I couldn't kill her either, but I couldn't refuse the mission. I told Hawkeye about it, and we came upon the conclusion that coming to Rizenbul to seek help and refuge was the only choice we had. The plan didn't work, since a few of the assassins managed to track us down before we even arrived at your house. They attacked us, so we killed them."

"Oh." Winry was made pretty speechless by the tale. She had never imagined that Colonel Mustang would be an assassin. Yes, he murdered her parents, but he did that under the command of a high-ranking officer, and not out of his own free will. He despised himself for that act, and she knew that, and had almost forgiven him already. She had always thought assassins were cold-blooded humans who took away innocent lives and enjoyed doing so. So how could Colonel Mustang be one? Surely he couldn't be so cruel. She was about to ask him why he became an assassin, but suddenly a forgotten memory from a long time ago found its way back to her mind.

Edward was an assassin as well. Edward became an assassin the same year he joined the military as a State Alchemist. She remembered the day Edward broke the news to her. She was more than shocked. She tried to ask Edward why he became an assassin, but he didn't give her an answer. He just told her to forget that he had ever told her he was an assassin. There was a pained look in his eyes when he said that, and it was a look Winry had grown to know very well. Winry understood that Edward had his own reason behind it all, and she never brought the issue up again. Now she wondered whether Edward was among the group of assassins which Roy used to be part of. Maybe Roy, too, had a dark reason for becoming an assassin that he didn't wish for anyone to know of.

"Miss Rockbell, are you okay?" Roy probed. "You seem troubled."

"I'm fine. I was just wondering whether you know everyone in the group of assassins you were in."

Roy shrugged. "I think there's quite a lot of them. I don't know all of them. Why?"

"Oh, nothing. Just curious, you know," Winry said hastily, hoping that she didn't sound too suspicious. Edward had requested her to keep the knowledge of him being an assassin a secret, and she had promised to do so. "Well then, let's come down to breakfast. I'll bring your breakfast up to you, Miss Hawkeye. You'd better stay in bed."

"Miss Rockbell, I'm afraid we can't stay. The assassins already know our location. It won't be long till they send more men to come after us. It's too risky to stay here. We need to leave," Roy said.

"If you leave, then where can you go?" Winry asked, and Roy started. He hadn't thought about that at all.

"Miss Rockbell, do you know of any good hiding places in this region?" Roy inquired.

"Why should I tell you even if I know any? I have helped you enough. I can't see why I should offer so much help to the killer of my parents," Winry said coldly.

The impact of Winry's words and tone on the Colonel was clearly visible. They sent a chill down his spine, and he shivered involuntarily. There was a flicker of guilt in his eyes. He opened his mouth to defend himself, but no words came. In front of him, his dearest subordinate saved him. "Miss Rockbell," Riza said quietly, "please help us. If not for the Colonel, then do it for me. It's a serious matter of life and death."

Winry heard the urgent tone in Riza's voice and gave up. "Fine, there's this cave in the hills where Ed, Al and I used to play in when we were little. The entrance of the cave is covered with weeds and other plants, shielding it from sight. It's very well-hidden."

"Are you sure it's safe?" Roy asked uncertainly.

Winry glared at him. "That's the safest place I know of. I've done my best for you. It's up to you whether to use that cave or not."

"Miss Rockbell, can you please show us the way to the cave?" Riza said politely to calm the girl, seeing that Roy had once again sparked the anger in Winry by not thinking before he spoke.

"Yes, I will. But can you two just stay for breakfast? It's already prepared, and we don't want to waste the food," Winry persuaded.

"What's for breakfast?" Roy queried.

"Sausages."

"Then I must stay for breakfast! I'm starving and I _love _sausages!" Roy exclaimed. "I can't let such good food go to waste." Roy turned and immediately dashed down the stairs, descending three steps at a time. Behind him, Riza chuckled gently at Roy's childish behaviour. Winry glanced at her and smiled. To her, the love Roy and Riza held for each other was obvious. Although she hated Roy, she couldn't help but pity him. He could never be together with Riza unless one of them left the military, which would definitely not happen, or if Roy became Fuhrer of the country. That goal seemed impossible.

Little did she know Roy had a much stronger will than she thought, and perhaps becoming Fuhrer wasn't that impossible for such a determined man. Perhaps.

_To be continued..._

**A/N:** Originally this chapter was much, much, much shorter, but I rewrote it to make it longer. Now this is the longest chapter so far. Please read and review!


	8. Confession

**Mission Impossible **(AU fic) (Royai)

**Ch. 8 / Confession**

Winry led Roy and Riza on their trek through the rocky mountains. Roy and Riza were each carrying a backpack filled with supplies in case they had to stay in the cave for quite a long time. One moment they were underneath a bright blue sky with white cotton-like clouds floating above their heads, walking along a stream of crystal clear water which sparkled under the sunlight; the next moment they were enveloped in a thick forest, surrounded with tall, green trees growing so densely together that the sunlight hardly travelled through. The journey was very tiring, and soon, Riza, still not fully recovered from her terrible injury, was slowing down and falling behind. Winry and Roy's legs were starting to ache too. So they stopped for a rest.

Riza sat down on the ground. Her breathing was very uneven and raspy. Roy dropped his backpack onto the ground and sat down next to Riza, peering at her with a worried frown. "Are you okay, Lieutenant?" he asked. "I'm fine," Riza said, turning her head away. Then she coughed. She clearly was not fine. "How long is it before we reach our destination?" Roy inquired, looking up at their guide.

Winry, who was leaning against a tree and staring up at a chirping bird perched on one of the branches, thought for a while and replied, "Not too long. About twenty minutes more or so." Roy eased Riza's backpack off her shoulders and took out a bottle of water from it. "Drink some water, Lieutenant," he advised. "It'll make you feel better." Riza accepted the water and gulped down a few mouthfuls before replacing the cap and putting the bottle back into her backpack.

They stayed at the spot for several more minutes before continuing their trip. This time, Roy carried two backpacks; he took Riza's load as well, for he was very concerned about Riza's health. Riza had been reluctant with his offer, but he just slung the backpack over his shoulder without listening to her. They walked on, for nearly a quarter of the hour in silence, before Winry spoke, "We're nearly there." Roy and Riza were boosted with new energy as a result of their eagerness to reach the cave quickly. All three of them picked up their paces and arrived at the mouth of the cave in three minutes, after fighting their way through thick undergrowth and getting scratches all over their bodies.

"Well, I'll leave you two here," Winry declared. "Good luck," she added in a lower voice. Then she turned and disappeared among the bushes. Roy surveyed his surroundings. "This'll be our home for now. We'd better make it more comfortable." He started unpacking things. He rolled out two sleeping bags. There were a few small pieces of rock jutting out from a corner of the cave, forming a natural shelf, on which Roy placed some of the smaller supplies. Riza stood and watched him.

Suddenly she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. The pain in her wound came back. She coughed and spat out -- blood. Roy stared the pool of red liquid on the floor of the cave, alarmed. "Lieutenant!" he cried, letting all of the things he was holding in his hands drop and dashing over to her. Another wave of dizziness and pain attacked her, and she collapsed. Roy caught her in his arms.

"Colonel," she breathed.

"I should never have pushed you to make the journey here. I knew that you weren't fit enough for it yet..." Roy blamed himself.

"No, it's not your fault," Riza said in a voice that was barely audible.

Roy looked at her helplessly.

"Colonel... if I die..." Riza began, but Roy interrupted her. "No, you won't die. I won't let you die, Lieutenant."

"Listen... If I die, I wanted my body to be cremated... with your own flame..." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes closed.

"NO, RIZA!" Roy yelled. "You won't die..."

He fell to floor on his knees. Riza was still living. He mustn't let her die... But he was miles away from any doctor. He could only go back to Winry for help. He picked up Riza's body and fought his way through the troublesome undergrowth once more and into the forest. It was only then when he realized he didn't know the way back. It was too complicated and he didn't remember the trail at all. If he tried to go any further, he would only get lost in the woods, and that would be even worse. He could starve to death or get eaten up by wild animals...

He forced himself to stop thinking about these worst-case scenarios and walked back to the cave. He laid Riza's body down on one of the sleeping bags. There was nothing else he could do but to hope with all his heart that Riza wouldn't die. He felt so weak and small now. He was only a human being, and even being an alchemist couldn't help him now. He had no medical knowledge at all.

He was just a human being.

He looked at Riza, his most favoured subordinate of all times. Oh, how would he survive without her? She was his life; his heart and soul. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever met. And now, he was about to watch the person he loved the most in his life die. A tear came to his eye. As he made no motion to stop it from falling, it did. It slid down his cheek, a single, glistening, silver tear.

"I love you so much, Riza," he confessed to the unconscious woman. "So much..."

Then he buried his head in his lap and sobbed.

Little did he know there was a blond boy watching him secretly with golden pupils from the entrance of the cave.

_To be continued..._

**A/N: **This chapter was extremely easy to write, for some reason. And it wasn't _too _short either. It's nearly a thousand words. Please read & review!


	9. Innocence

**Mission Impossible **(AU fic) (Royai) (EdWin in this chapter!)

**Ch. 9 / Innocence**

"Brother..."

"Yes, Al?" The blond looked up at the armour.

"Why are we leaving Rizenbul so soon? We didn't visit Winry. I thought the reason we went was because you wanted to see her," Al said.

"I have some important business, Al," Edward muttered wearily. "Don't worry. We won't be in Central for long. We're going straight back to Rizenbul after I've finished what I need to do. Then we can see Winry."

The helmet bobbed up and down to form a nod. "What do you need to do though, brother?"

"Don't ask," Ed said sharply, then his tone softened, "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you, Al. You don't mind, do you?"

"I understand," Al said.

Silence resumed in the train compartment after that. A food trolley rattled by, but the Elric brothers ignored it, which was unusual as the older one, famous for his huge appetite, would usually purchase a whole load of food and gobble it all down in seconds. His brows were knitted together in a frown. He was worried about something, and Al could tell that... Al was concerned about his brother too.

---

"Toren."

"Innocence? What are you doing here?" A cold voice reached out from the darkness and gripped the blond's heart.

Breaking free of the deadly grasp, the boy gained enough courage to speak, "I come to ask that you stop pursuing Silver and his target."

"And why should I?" Toren asked, apparently angered by the directness of Innocence's request.

"Because they love each other," Innocence stated most simply, only to receive a laugh from Toren. It was a cold laugh, enough to send a chill down the bravest men's spines.

"What do you know about love? How old are you? You've just turned sixteen. You are young. Do you understand love? No, my dear boy, you do not. Don't pretend that you do."

"I _do_ know about love!" the boy protested loudly. "I have a person that I love, and she loves me back."

"Is that so?" Toren smirked. "Who is she, may I ask?"

"I won't tell you," Innocence said defiantly. "If I told you, surely you would order me to kill her, like you commanded Silver to kill his love."

"No, I promise I will not do such a cruel thing to you. Just tell me who this lucky girl is."

Innocence hesitated for a few seconds before saying softly, "Winry. Winry Rockbell." The name rolled out lovingly from his tongue, and a hint of pink floated onto his cheeks.

"Oh, that fifteen-year-old automail geek who wears a tube top half of the time?" Toren almost laughed again. "She's one sexy girl. Are you sure that it's love and not lust? She, too, is young. Teenagers. They're not old enough to understand love properly, though they think they do. They have such great fantasies of love, only to grow up to find that they are never real."

"No!" Innocence yelled, unable to contain himself. His fists were shaking uncontrollably. "I love her, truly and deeply. We both love each other with our whole hearts, and we both understand love! It is you who do not understand. You who do not feel. You who --"

"Enough!" Toren shouted, interrupting the boy in his boiling rage. Toren's tone had a trace of menace. "How dare you speak to me like that! Do you think raising your voice and throwing insults at me will help to fulfill your request? You silly child."

The blond exhaled shakily. He had almost forgotten what he came here to do. Sucking in a deep breath, he said, "Please, please, I beg you." He felt so pathetic and foolish. The Fullmetal Alchemist, pleading for something? It was utterly ridiculous. It was unheard of. He never begged for anything no matter how much he wanted it. This was a first.

Toren was very much amused to see the boy on his knees. _What a rare sight, _he mused. _Perhaps I should reward the boy for putting on such an entertaining show for me. _"Innocence," he began.

"Yes, Toren?" The blond looked up with hope in his bright golden eyes.

"I grant you your request," Toren said the words which the blond wanted to hear.

"Thank you so much, Toren!" the boy chirped happily.

"But of course, there is always a price." At once, there seemed to be an enormous piece of rock dropped onto Edward. He felt crushed. He held his breath, expecting the worse. What Toren said was nothing like he had imagined. "You and Silver are no longer part of us assassins."

What Toren didn't know was that it was a 'prize' rather than a 'price'. Edward had never felt happier in his life apart from the very few moments he spent with Winry. He was finally free from all those blood spillings.

---

The atmosphere in the train compartment was considerably lighter this time. Al was pleased to see that his brother had been rid of his burden. "Aren't you glad, brother? We're going back to see Winry at last!"

"Yeah." Edward grinned, overjoyed at the thought of seeing his girlfriend after nearly half a year of being separated from each other.

"Have you got Winry any presents?" Al inquired.

"Maybe," the blond alchemist said mysteriously.

"Oh, brother!" Al said. If armours could have facial expressions, Al would be grinning like his brother.

---

_**Switch to Roy and Riza**_

Roy stared down at the body in front of him in despair. There was still a pulse. It was very faint, but at least it was there. That was slightly reassuring. His tears, which he had thought would be never-ending, had dried. There was nothing he could do, and that made it all worse. If he had something to do, at least he could devote his mind to that, and bury and lose himself in that task, so that he wouldn't have to keep thinking about what would happen if Riza died. It was exactly what he was doing now, and it was the only activity available.

Suddenly he heard some rustling sounds as if something or someone was making their way through the undergrowth outside which protected the cave from most intruders. He stiffened and pulled on his glove, getting ready for action.

Little did he know that it was his only alchemist subordinate coming to pay him a little visit.

_To be continued..._

**A/N: **I added a bit of EdWin into this chapter. And I put Al in for a bit too! Hope you liked it. The next chapter will be the last one. Sad? Please read & review!


	10. Rainbow

**Mission Impossible **(AU fic) (Royai)

**Ch. 10 / Rainbow**

"Mustang," Edward said quietly. "You don't need that," he added, nodding at Roy's raised hand.

Roy narrowed his eyes. "Fullmetal? What are you doing here?"

"To tell you that the assassins are no longer after you two," the boy answered simply.

"How do you know?" Roy said, his eyes doing the opposite of what they had been doing a few moments ago: widening.

"I used to be one of them," was all Edward would give away before turning and disappearing from the cave.

Roy made no move to follow him. He pulled off his glove and eyed the motionless body on the ground.

---

Edward hopped down the last few rocks and reached soft, earthy ground. It had just started raining. The rocks were proving a bit of trouble as they slippery in the wet weather. He was glad to escape them finally.

He looked down at his feet as he plodded on the dampening soil which was turning into mud. He hoped he wouldn't get his boots too dirty. He had just polished them the day before.

Not looking where he was heading, he lumbered right into someone. He looked up to mutter an apology, but no words came out of his mouth when he saw the person he had walked into.

"...!"

"Edo!" the girl emitted a cry of surprise mixed with happiness. "I missed you."

"Winry," Edward said dryly, but he was grinning.

The two embraced each other briefly, and fluttering kisses were exchanged.

"Al's at my place. He told me you'd be arriving soon. You took quite some time, didn't you? Where've you been?"

"Oh, nothing," Edward lied.

"Tell me the truth," Winry said, looking into Edward's golden pupils. "Wait, you haven't been to the Colonel's, have you?"

"Uh, yeah, you guessed."

"What were you doing there? How did you know where to find them? How's Miss Hawkeye?"

"Geez, you have so many questions, young lady," Ed pretended to complain.

Winry laughed. "You'll have to stick with them for the rest of your life after you restore Al's body."

"Why?" Ed asked.

"Because we're gonna get married then."

---

Her ears registered a strange sound. Although vague, it was unmistakably raindrops falling down onto the land. Heavy eyelids flickered open and shut, and repeated this process several times before enough strength was mustered to keep them open for a longer time. A grey mist seemed to hang over everything in sight. She couldn't make out anything through this useless, clouded vision. For a moment, she panicked and wondered if something was wrong with her eyesight. Then, as the fog lifted, she began to look at the world more clearly.

The first thing which came into her field of vision was a fuzzy dark-haired figure in a crouching position.

"Roy..." she managed weakly, saying the name without thinking. Her voice came out more of a croak, but the man heard her call his name and turned round to face her, a look of delightful surprise on his face.

"Riza, you're awake!" he exclaimed. "Thank God you're alive!" His voice sounded husky, as if he had been crying (which he had). He felt an sudden overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around Riza and proclaim his love for her, same as the last time Hawkeye had woken up. That seemed like years and years ago.

"Yes, thank God I'm alive, if there is one," Riza muttered, smiling grimly. "I can't believe I didn't die. How long was I out for?"

"Not too long, actually. Only around three days." Mentally, Roy added, _but it felt like a whole bloody week or more. It was enough to scare me to my death._

"Okay, good," Riza said. "I hope no one was around when I was unconscious."

"Miss Rockbell came to provide us with more supplies. She's more helpful than I would have thought. Fullmetal came to see me. He was actually one of those assassins, but not anymore. He got fired after begging for us to be let free. He's a good guy, that Fullmetal, " Roy said, his lips turning up into a small smile. "How's your wound? Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, I'm a lot better, thanks. It just hurts a bit when I move too much. Was Edward-kun an assassin? Wow, I didn't know that. We must really thank him. So we aren't being chased anymore?"

Roy nodded. "I didn't know he was an assassin either. Are you hungry, Riza? I'm just having lunch here. You can join in."

Eyeing the food, Riza smiled refreshingly. "Sure, Roy, I'm starving." Roy was stunned by the beautiful smile that had flashed across Riza's delicate features for a brief moment and wished it could have lasted longer. He walked over and gently helped her up. Then they sat down to lunch.

Neither of them seemed to notice that they were using each other's first names, and if one of them had noticed, that person certainly wouldn't want to mention it and spoil the mood. It wasn't very often that they could relax like this.

---

"WHAT?"

Roy had never seen Riza lose her composure like this, except the time when they had cried together on the night of Maes's death. Riza looked shocked; simply terrified. She stared at Roy as if he'd lost his mind. Roy felt that he'd gone crazy too.

He had told Riza that he loved her. He didn't know how and why; the words just came tumbling out of his mouth, and the next thing he knew Riza was screaming at him. It just felt right at that moment to say those three words he had waited for years to say.

He never thought she'd react like this. Somewhere, deep in his heart, he'd always thought that Riza loved him back. He was crestfallen to learn of the fact that he had been wrong.

Then suddenly Riza threw herself onto him. A tear was running down her cheek but she was smiling brightly. "Baka," she scolded lightly into Roy's ear. And Roy knew that everything was all right. Riza _did_ love him. And she told him that softly, the words sounding like a lovely melody to Roy.

Roy couldn't resist it anymore. He pressed his lips onto Riza's. Riza was taken back by this new form of contact but she made no motion to break it. It was a guarded kiss at first, as neither dared to open up to each other. But slowly, slowly they let go of their masks, of themselves, and the kiss turned into a more passionate one. One of Roy's hands started to wander to places it shouldn't be at. Riza growled a warning that obviously meant 'no sex before marriage', and it was a growl which Roy felt rather than heard. Roy quickly snatched his hand back indignantly. If he'd have to wait till marriage, he'd have to wait a _long _time.

When Riza broke away at last, desperate for fresh air, Roy pointed to the sky outside. "Look, the rain's over."

"And there's a rainbow too," Riza added to his comment. And yes, there was a magnificent rainbow, hanging in the sky like a great heavenly arch, a splendid feast for the eye.

"Yeah, and the rainbow was the sign of a covenant between God and his people. And since we both don't believe in God, let's take the rainbow as the sign of our covenant."

Riza looked at Roy curiously and waited for him to go on and explain, so Roy did, "I'll do my best to try and get to the top, and you'll do your best to protect me. That's _our_ covenant. And when we get there, we'll get married." Roy practically whispered the last part into Riza's ear. "Before that day comes, it'll be raining a lot." He glanced at Riza, suggesting that she should continue for him.

Riza smiled and said, "But all the dark pouring rain would be worth it, because the beautiful rainbow would be there for us during our wedding, and then it'll shine on us forever, with all its seven lively colours radiating with joy."

_The End_

**A/N: **This is just way too sappy. I can't believe I just wrote all that fluff, for both Royai and EdWin. Still, I like this ending. Please read & review! Hope you enjoyed the whole story.


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